Friday, March 12, 2010

The Garden Chronicles

(Detail of my garden)

It's that time of year again when a girl's fancy turns to all things abloom. Visions of picnics and chairs dragged out on the lawn and watering cans and flowered gloves and a tea table heaped with hot scones and lashings of jam and butter come immediately to mind.

(Illustration by George du Maurier, 1834-1896)

Yes, I am an utter romantic when it comes to my Lilliputian grassy kingdom, and I make no apologies.

My own garden, however, is still in "Early Eliza Doolittle" phase. We have privacy, a pool and a new troupe of grass seedlings busy making a brilliant fledgling debut, but not much else.

Most of the gardens in my neighborhood have been transformed into wondrous outdoor living areas. They are truly incredible; however, the downside is that they have given up most of their lawn in the process. In place of grass, there are hardscaped dining areas, stone fire pits, pebbled pathways, fountains, petanque alleys and other assorted features.

But I'm reluctant to give up my plot of verdant turf...and therein lies the rub.

You see, I don't own a dog, but I have a son, which amounts to much the same thing.

Luca uses that grassy stomping ground to chase his friends, lie on a blanket and read, and hurl as many types of balls as high, far and fast as he can.

I can't bear to take that away from him.

And, to be perfectly honest, I love looking out my kitchen window and seeing that little swath of green. It's an enchanted Arcadia to me.

...beneath the wall of ficus trees that extend the length of the property and let their pale green tendrils clamber up the branches and sprout delicate little white flowers. (The restaurant Ceccconi's in West Hollywood does this and it's wonderfully effective in adding texture and drama to a living wall.)

2. Over in the corner behind the pool, I plan to erect a wooden pergola and then create some kind of reading/dining area beneath it. It's especially lovely to sit somewhere and gaze back at the house (it creates the feeling of more space), so I want to make the most of this little visual illusion. I will paint the structure in Railings from Farrow and Ball, which is the most wonderful blue-black...

What kind, I don't know, as I am a novice gardener of the highest order. (Any ideas?)

3. Next, I would like to find some pale grey cement planters and perch them around the edge of the pool so that it feels like a little Victorian bathing pond. Whatever type of plant goes in them needs to be sturdy, structured and unprickly.

4. I'll leave one corner by the pool bare to give me room for one of these cement poufs from Harbinger LA which I absolutely can't stop thinking about (they come in 25 colors). They'll look even better after a couple of years in the sun, wind and rain -- they'll be seasoned, literally.

5. Other than that, I guess our garden furniture will have to be restricted to the portable kind for now. But as I mentioned in the opening of the post, there's something wonderfully old-school about dragging indoor furniture outside. Plus, it gives you the freedom to create whatever type of environment you like, whether you seek to emulate the civilized luxury of a Victorian fete...

31 comments:

Planning gardens is exciting because you have to leave room for unpredictable events such as plants failing to thrive, flooding rain, damage from children etc.. I think the challenge is to balance the hard and soft landscaping. I can see the attraction to lots of built in outdoor furniture but to me it look a bit hotelly.

Two things which would work in your garden - a low stone wall for sitting on, we have these and they get a lot of use. And a trompe l'oeil gate ie a wrought iron gate on the fence covered in vines which goes nowhere! xoxo

Oh I miss a garden (of my own). I saw your potato vine photograph & wanted to say do plant it. I used to grow it in the Mideast & also in DC. Lovely, lovely. It's quite popular in Cairo, on rooftops. Well, that has nothing to do with Bloomsbury but still...

Oh don't you love this time of year!? I've been reading lots of Beverley Nichols to get me in the mood for Spring(its still rather chilly in the Northeast).

As for your garden, I love all your plans, and all that grass is wonderful, like a Merchant Ivory film. And those Victorian planters? Without a doubt, I think you should put a variety of ferns in them. Then cover the soil with moss. I did this last year and it was so simple and so aesthetically pleasing I can recommend nothing else (especially those of us with shady gardens). And I bet if you do the Martha Stewart buttermilk/moss trick on the pots they will be green and aged by May. SO EXCITED!

Jane: Very intrigued by your wall idea. And the trompe l'oeuil gate is genius. Thank you!

Guilia: Bloomsbury is a mood and an attitude, not just a place frozen in time anymore... how interesting about the Cairo rooftops. Love that. xx

Daniel-Halifax: Love your mossy fern idea. My garden is partial sun, so as long as the hot July days won't scorch them into oblivion, it could work. And yes, that Martha Stewart buttermilk idea will have to be implemented. Thank you! xx

Foxglove is one of my fabourite pink flowers- how about some wild roses in pink to contrast with Railings F & B colour- hydrangia in shades of pink which can also be burgundy in fall. Does gardenia bloom in Ca? Jasmine- I had a white garden at my farm and remember someone saying white flowers glow at nightime. Love your plans!

Hello Lisa,How delicious! Due to several horrible storms we have lost many of the trees that once graced our property, and we have also ripped out the flower beds that a previous owner put in, in the wrong places that is. Now it is a tabula rasa...a bit too rasa, if you ask me. So now we, like you, are starting to put it all back together. I share your appreciation for a sward of grass, as it is one of the great pleasures of a property. But then it is best when appropriately framed by plantings and walls, and attractively littered with garden furniture, urns, and statues. We once painted our urns in F&B's "Railings", but then repainted them in "Near Black" after only a year since Railings fades to blue in the sun. In any event, your garden is lovely! Reggie

This post leaves me inspired. So agree about keeping the lawn. I don't understand the trend toward going with a total hardscape. As you said, no grass means no blankets on the ground, no croquet, no romping.

Your garden is lovely, and I love your sense of whimsy and joie d'vivre. That said, I hate to be a killjoy.... but please do consider replacing your lawn, or at least reducing it. Los Angeles is not London. (To be read with a smile... not a trace of snark.)

Just discovered your blog -- love it! Try a climbing rose on your garden structure. One with beautiful pale pink blooms is New Dawn, and it is very reliable, hardy, etc. Also check out David Austin roses -- you will love it. It is all the old fashioned English roses, and you can search by color.

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